The recent healthcare reform bill passed has caused uproars from people across the country. However, the contents of the bill are often misunderstood or even unknown to the average person or student. It is, after all, 1,990 pages. Here are a few high points of the bill, in simple terms:
Health insurance will become a requirement. If a person cannot afford insurance, Medicaid may be extended to them, or government subsidies (grants) can be provided. Because of the extension of coverage, 32 million more Americans will be insured, bringing the total coverage up to 94 percent of Americans. Additionally, insurance companies are no longer permitted to deny someone coverage based on their current medical conditions, or drop them based on a new condition. More rebates and coverage for prescription drugs will become available.
The cost of the enactment of the bill is estimated to total $940 billion. For insurance to be extended to those who can’t afford it, yes, the people that can afford it must pay more taxes. However, these increases will only apply to certain taxes, to people who earn more than $200,000 per year, or couples who earn more than $250,000 per year. Additionally, people who are not insured and businesses with more than 50 employees, who do not offer insurance to their employees, will be taxed.
Some of the lesser-known aspects of the bill include a 10 percent tax on tanning. The government wants to make a point that tanning with ultraviolet light is harmful. Starting July 1, in an effort to discourage it, when you go tan, instead of paying $10 for 5 minutes, you’ll have to pay a whopping $11.
Restaurant chains will be required to display calorie counts in prominent locations, including menus and drive-thru menus.
Children will be able to remain on their parents’ insurance plan until they are 26-years-old, instead of the current cutoff of 19.
Although doctor’s appointments will cost less, and check-ups and other preventative appointments will not require a co-pay, primary care doctors will be charged a fee for referring patients to a specialist. This means that specialists will receive fewer patients, and therefore, will be paid less.
The job of a primary care doctor is less intense than that of a specialist. Now, primary care doctors will often be paid more than specialists, which could result in less desire for pre-med students to go in to a specialist field.
The increase in coverage will also result in longer waiting times at the doctors’ office. This is upsetting to some, as the economically disadvantaged may receive care sooner than middle and upper-class people.
Some portions of the bill have already gone into effect, while others will not go into effect until 2018. Although there are numerous minor details to it, all in all, the bill essentially makes healthcare a right and not a privilege, which is what all the fuss is about.
